Free Republic

June 1, 2023, is Marilyn Monroe’s 97th birthday In some or many male hearts and dreams, she is very much alive. She was available. “What do I wear in bed?” she pretended to ask herself, “Why, Chanel No.5, of course.” The fantasy was so good that it became real. “If I’d observed all the rules, I’d never have got anywhere.” Her reality sometimes went happily, but tragically too: these are believed to be her last words spoken to actor Peter Lawford: She was “tired and would not be coming” to dinner. “…… say goodbye to the president (Lawford’s brother-in-law), and...

America’s Sweetheart from the silent movie era, Mary Pickford, died, aged 87, on this day, 44 years ago, in 1979. “If you have made mistakes, even serious mistakes, there is always another chance for you.” she is renowned to have said, “And supposing you have tried and failed again and again, you may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” On set, Pickford’s habit was to hang a bucket and ask everyone working to put some money for other film workers who were not...

I am a libertarian. To me, freedom looks like the essential glue or fabric for society. Freedom needs discipline. I speculate that my poet’s etymological analysis of the word “freedom” can give us both freedom and discipline in the one word. To do this, I first suggest that the roots of the word “freedom” can lead us to call it the home or homes where we can feel free. For me today, the word "freedom" combines the adjective "free" with the Latin word "domus" or home to mean a home or homes where someone can feel free. This is an...

I believe we must not forget that: "Men, women and children need to live with love; this is an indispensable foundation of human society." Today, the 14th of May, is now Mother’s Day in Australia and the 54th birthday of mother-of-four, and dual Oscar winning Australian born actress Cate Blanchett. Here are some of her thoughts on being a mum: “Children are spirited, passionate, political, demanding. They are also heartbreaking. They constantly extend parents and so parents are constantly confronted with their failures, don’t you think? I’d rather presently live life this way than not.” “My husband and I worry...

Doris Eaton Travis made her Broadway debut at the age of 13 and one year later was the youngest ever cast member of the Ziegfeld follies. After her career in stage and screen ended, she was a dance instructor with Arthur Murray Dance Studios for three decades, rising through the ranks to own & manage nearly twenty dance schools. Travis retired from the dance studio business in 1968. She moved with her husband moved to Norman, Oklahoma, and established a ranch. Initially on 220 acres , which grew to 880 acres. Many of the quarter-horses bred and raised there were...

Shirley Temple's 95th birthday has started in Australia about six hours ago. She served as a diplomat for two years under President Ford, almost three years under the first President Bush and about one day under President Carter .......... She reported that she had met President Carter on his first day in the White House and told him that she was "interested in continuing in public service and that politics didn't matter - but it does, doesn't it?" .............. Was that Carter's first mistake as President? .............. As a little boy in Australia in the 60's she was my favourite...

I always loved Wings Wild Life, Mumbo was and is sexier than John Lee Hooker or Elmore James. Tomorrow - a beautiful little bit of pop. Dear Friend - an enigmatic hymn to yearning for reconciliation with John Lennon. It was recorded for Ram but I'd be guessing the intense emotions of the breakup delayed it. The Lovely Linda underpinned both albums. A marriage that lasted. Ram on. Read on ........ for more ...... please .......

Who can make sense of Greta Garbo? She was born Swedish and became a movie star at home before she also found cinematic glory in America? But did she become truly American?